Oct 19, 2010
Welcome back to Monday Night Matchups! Tonight we pit the 2 most recent YCS-winning Decks against each other with tips for Duelists on both sides of the table on how to emerge victorious. LIGHT Gemini Beatdown and Plant Synchro are both slower-paced strategies than those we’ve become accustomed to so far on the YCS scene, but each Deck has its own unique and powerful combos that can take down opponents one by one until they have to face off against each other! Tonight we’ll explain how each Deck works, and give you tips for both sides of the matchup, so that no matter what side you’re on, you’ll know what to do.
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2 Championship winning Decks, but only 1 can win when they come head to head! |
Where’s Quickdraw Synchron gone?
The one thing you’ll quickly notice about Plant Synchro after looking at Thanh Nguyen’s winning Decklist from YCS Philadelphia is that it looks a lot like Quickdraw Dandywarrior (which finished 2nd), except that it’s missing Quickdraw Synchron. Everything else is still there, from theDandylion and Debris Dragon combos to the Caius the Shadow Monarchs as a non-Synchro solution to tricky situations. Dropping Quickdraw Synchron gives the Deck a little breathing space as other cards can now make their way into the Deck, or be run in additional numbers (like the 3 Caius in Nguyen’s Deck). There’s also a lot of extra space in the Extra Deck now that you don’t have to run any of the monsters that require “Synchron” monsters in there. There’s even enough space for 2 Chimeratech Fortress Dragons now, which are very important in the Machina Gadget matchup.
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Plant Synchro’s got plenty of new tricks up its sleeve. |
So how does Plant Synchro win Duels now that there’s no Drill Warrior loop?
Quickdraw Dandywarrior’s key combo in winning Duels was to Summon Drill Warrior and keep using its effect to remove it from play, only to get it back next turn and add any monster from your Graveyard to your hand for free. By constantly discarding Dandylion and getting back cards like Quickdraw Synchron and Debris Dragon, the Deck would be able to Special Summon high ATK monsters every turn and devastate opponents. Plant Synchro’s a little different as it doesn’t have this loop, but instead works its way through Duels by slowly getting rid of the opponent’s cards until they’ve nothing left. Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter andCaius the Shadow Monarch (3 copies of each are in Nguyen’s Deck) can take care of most threats while Debris Dragon can bring out either Scrap Dragon or Black Rose Dragon to clear away complex opposing fields. Since there is more space in the Deck for other options, some builds opt to use cards like Snowman Eater and Doomcaliber Knight, cutting back on cards like Pot of Avarice which aren’t as useful at the start of Duels when you don’t have enough monsters in the Graveyard.
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LIGHT Gemini Beatdown has many tricks of its own! |
What about LIGHT Gemini Beatdown?
LIGHT Gemini Beatdown has been around for a long time, but it wasn’t until the release ofDuelist Revolution that it got the boost needed (from Pot of Duality and Solemn Warning) to take it to the top tables of a YCS. Nik Ristoski took the Deck to a Top 16 finish at YCS Toronto and several Duelists soon saw what potential the Deck had. One of those was Angel Flores, who bettered the Deck’s YCS Toronto performance by winning YCS San Jose!
The Deck’s main goals are to stop the opponent’s key combos and to hit hard with several high ATK LIGHT Monsters. Cyber Dragon, Elemental Hero Neos Alius and Thunder King Rai-Oh are the key monsters in the Deck, and they’re all backed up by Honest, which allows them to take down anything in battle. Some versions of the Deck also use Effect Veiler andBanisher of the Radiance, along with non-LIGHT monsters like Doomcaliber Knight. To back up these monsters there’s Gemini Spark and Hero Blast. Gemini Spark lets you destroy one of your opponents cards after you Tribute Elemental Hero Neos Alius, and you get to draw a card too! Hero Blast makes the most of Neos Aluis when it’s Tributed, letting you get it back to your hand (Gemini monsters count as Normal Monsters when in the Graveyard). Then you destroy one of your face-up monsters with an ATK less than or equal to that of the monster you brought back. With Neos Alius having 1900 ATK, you’ll be destroying almost every non-Synchro monster seen in play today! The Deck also uses Skill Drain and Royal Oppression, to cause further headaches for opponents while the LIGHT Gemini Duelist is unaffected.
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Plant Synchro will be aiming to stop LIGHT Gemini Beatdown from stopping their combos. |
Can my Plants handle everything that LIGHT Gemini Beatdown throws at me?
The matchup is slightly favoured towards LIGHT Gemini Beatdown, as the Deck is designed to take down Decks like Plant Synchro and Quickdraw Dandywarrior. That being said there are still some things you can do to gain the upper hand. Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter is going to be one of your key cards in this matchup, as it can take out the opponent’s cards during the Damage Step, where their Gemini Spark and Hero Blast tricks can’t touch it. If your Set Rykos don’t get attacked you can flip them on your turn and then Tribute them for Caius the Shadow Monarch to get rid of 2 cards in quick succession.
The Gemini Duelist may try to stop this combo by using Hero Blast to destroy Ryko before it’s Tributed, but with 3 copies of Book of Moon on your side, you can keep your Ryko safe (since Hero Blast only destroys face-up monsters), ready to be either flipped again later on, or Tributed as planned. Some Plant Synchro variants use Trap Stun and Royal Decree to shut down opposing defences, and if you manage to get one off in this matchup, be sure to make the most of it by wiping out the entire field with Black Rose Dragon! LIGHT Gemini Beatdown Decks tend to Set a lot of Spells and Traps, so a well-timed (and protected) Black Rose Dragon could cause enough problems for you to take a swift victory afterwards.
What does my Gemini Deck need to do to take down Plant Synchro?
Plant Synchro’s key combos involve Debris Dragon and Dandylion, Tuning them together to wipe your field clean with Black Rose Dragon, or combining them with Fluff Tokens to Summon Stardust Dragon and Scrap Dragon. Thunder King Rai-Oh can stop your opponent from Synchro Summoning as any Synchros your opponent tries to bring out will be destroyed by its effect. Solemn Warning will also help out when you don’t have Thunder King in your hand, and can also stop Lonefire Blossom from Summoning Tytannial, Princess of Camellias(which has more ATK than anything in your Deck). If you draw Royal Oppression or Skill Drainearly on, you’ll be able to shut down most of the Plant Duelist’s Deck in an instant. Pot of Duality will help you to get to those cards in your Deck as quickly as possible. Also, make sure to get as much use out of your Gemini Sparks and Hero Blasts as you possibly can. Gemini Spark will help you to get around Set monsters like Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter before they can be flipped and Hero Blast can destroy any Debris Dragons and Spores before they can be used for Synchro Summons. Your Deck has many different ways of stopping Plant Synchro from doing what it wants to do, so any opening hand you get should be able to handle them for the majority of the Duel.
Both of these Decks have proven themselves to be strong enough to take down anything they come across at high-level tournaments. No matter what side you’re on when these 2 Decks eventually face-off, the tips provided above should give you enough of an edge to come out on top.
